Strong winds fan several fires in Southern CA

LOS ANGELES 
A fire that broke out in Camp Pendleton has forced the evacuation of hospital and a military housing unit.

Base officials say the fire which broke out near Lake O'Neil Saturday afternoon prompted the evacuation of an unknown number of residents at a nearby housing unit.

A power outage at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton also prompted officials to transfer about 30 patients to other hospitals in the area.

The fire has burned about 250 acres, sending smoke that could be seen across northern San Diego County.

The cause of the fire and the power outage was under investigation.

Hot, dry and windy conditions fueled several small fires across Southern California, including one that caused a key freeway junction north of Los Angeles to shut down.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Small fires broke out across Southern California on Saturday amid hot, windy conditions, causing a key freeway junction north of Los Angeles to shut down for 90 minutes and damaging homes in Orange County.

Arcing power lines, many hit by tree branches, sparked a rash of small blazes that singed the exterior of a handful of homes near Tustin in the morning, Capt. Steve Concialdi, an Orange County Fire Authority spokesman, told City News Service.

Later that day in the Los Angeles area, three fire agencies using bulldozers, air support and ground crews battled a 15-acre blaze that started on a hillside north of the junction of Interstate 5 and state Route 14 in the Newhall Pass. The freeways were closed to traffic in all directions for 90 minutes, according to City News Service.

Wind gusts of 65 mph were reported at 1:30 p.m., 5 miles southeast of the fire. The freeways were reopened at 2:15 p.m.

Red flag fire danger alerts were posted for much of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, as well as other areas. The alerts were to remain in effect until Sunday, although winds were diminishing late Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

State fire crews also were helping the military battle a blaze Saturday on the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, sending smoke across northern San Diego County.

The weather service called the situation the region's "most significant fire weather threat in the past five years." Temperatures were unseasonably high, reaching in the 90s in many coastal communities.